The Strata Dragon Slayer
by Cyburst
Summary: Instead of Macao, Romeo is taken by his mother. But circumstances cause her to abandon her son, who is found and trained in a forest. Watch out Fairy Tail, for the Strata Dragon Slayer has arrived
1. A Child's Beginning

Hey all. Hope you like this new story idea I had. I have no idea where I'm going with this but hopefully it's somewhere good. Alright, enjoy.

* * *

_Fiore, near the border of Seven_

Flames, that was what you could see everywhere you looked. The small town of Black Ivy, only two days walk from the border of Seven, was aflame. Every single house was being burnt to the ground and its citizens were running around trying to escape.

One such citizen was a young woman with tanned skin and shoulder-length purple hair. She wore an orange bikini top and matching skirt, along with red bands around her arms and a flower headdress. Her name was Enno and she was running as fast as she could, making sure not to damage the thing in the basket she carried.

She'd lived in Black Ivy for a year and a half now. She used to live in a big city called Magnolia, but had moved away for a more peaceful life.

But that peace had been shattered by the Dark Guild Nightmare Bloodhound, who were attacking and looting the village causing the townspeople to flee Enno included.

"There's one over there!" Crap, she'd been spotted. Enno picked up the pace and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, right out of the town and headed out into the countryside. "You won't get away!" He was right. They were catching up. What would they do when they got her? and what would happen to him?

As said before, she had once lived in Magnolia but had moved away. While in Magnolia, she had been in a relationship with a wizard named Macao. He was a member of the Fairy Tail guild, where she'd been a dancer who performed a lot at the guild and had acquired many fans, one of which being said fire mag. She had seen him watch her from a distance, and though he was about six years older then her, she had found him cute and had asked him out. This led to a two-year relationship before she decided to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind.

Of cause, if Enno had waited a week or two, she might not have left at all. Not after learning about her condition, leading to the thing she carried in her basket. Little Romeo.

Romeo was a perfect mixture of his parents. He had his fathers hair and her eyes, his nose and her face. Her baby slept peacefully despite the movement caused by his mothers running.

Enno found herself entering the forest she liked to spend her free time in, she knew there was plenty of good places to hide in there and not long after, she was curled up in a small hole under a large rock. But even now, she didn't feel safe. Those men would find her and take her away. They would take her baby and do god knows what. She had to do something to save him.

It was then she spotted the river and an idea came to her. It may seem a bit cliché, sending a baby down the river, but what over choice did she have? She knew that river, she had walked along its banks many times, and remembered it was very straight and had gentle current, which went through the centre of another town two miles downstream.

Someone would find him. Someone would protect him, right? It was her only choice. Slowly. she moved out of her hiding spot and down towards the river before looking back inside the basket. Romeo had woken up and was looking up at his mother with his big curious eyes.

"Romeo," she said quietly, "please know that mummy loves you." She was beginning to tear up, "I know you'll be confused for a while but I promise I did this for your own good." She went into her pocket and pulled out two things.

The first was a pen she always carried, a habit she had picked up from always needing to sign autographs, and the other being a photograph of her and Romeo on the day he was born. Quickly, she scribbled a note to whoever finds him and placed it in the basket. before kissing her baby on the forehead and slowly lowering him onto the water. The basket floated in place for a second, but eventually started moving and carried him gently down the river and deeper into the forest.

"Be safe," she said before getting up and running in the opposite direction. The men saw and chased after her, oblivious to the basket she had previously had.

* * *

The Pulchra Forest was a ten-mile wide woodland surrounding a large mountain and is known as a mythical place where many magical creatures lived. It was one of these creatures that was walking to the river to collect water when she heard it.

Leanille was a wood elf. Her skin was brown, with light blue hair and brown eyes. She reached the edge of the river when she heard a sound, high pitched and loud. Fearing someone may be hurt, she followed it and found the origin to be a small wooden basket that floating on the water while stuck on a large rock pointing out of the other side of the stream.

She held out her hands and waved them around. As she did, a nearby tree began to move and bend over so that its branch hooked around the basket handle and lifted it up before slowly moving over to her and gently dropped it into her hands.

She looked inside and gasped at what she saw. "A baby?" she removed the infant from his cradle and held him close to her. "There there," her gentle voice soothed him and the crying stopped. "That's better," she looked down at the baby. "Now young one, how'd you get here?"

"I'd like to know that too." She looked up to the skies as the grand voice filled the air. She wasn't scared, she knew that voice, it belonged to an old friend.

"Starvern," She said as the area was filled with a giant dragon. He was mainly yellow with a white stomach, neck and lower jaw. He also sported blue horns, two on his head, one on his nose and each of his elbows along with the crooks of his wings. White hair ran from between his head horns and down the back of his neck, and on his forehead between his eyes was a large red crystal.

"What is the great Strata Dragon doing this close to the forest edge?" Leanille asked, "you usually stay near your mountain cave."

The dragon looked down at her, eying both she and the baby she carried. "I sensed a new magical power entering the territory and came to see if it was safe or not. And it looks like I found it.

"You can't mean this one. can you?" She asked while showing him the baby, "he's only a youngling. He can't have much magic power."

"He may be young but he is also human," Starvern told her. "And their magic can know no bounds, even in infancy. So I ask you, where did he come from?"

"I just found him," she pointed to the basket. "He was in this basket on the river."

The dragon looked upstream for a moment, "was anything else in this basket?"

"I haven't looked," she knelt down and place the baby on the grass as she opened the basket and found only one thing inside. A photo of a human woman laying in a bed holding a baby. Was this the child's mother? She turned it over and found writing.

_Please protect my Romeo_

The rest of it was a list of things needed to know about this boy, his birthday and what he needed to eat. Whoever sent this child down the river seemed to care about him.

"Romeo?" she said the name out loud and noticed a reaction from the baby, "what a lovely name."

"It seems this child has escaped a horrible fate," Starvern said to the elf. "The mother must have been in trouble and sent the boy downstream."

"The poor thing," Leanille picked Romeo up and held him close to her heart, the beating soothing the child. "What do we do with him?"

"He is human and belongs with them," the Strata Dragon told her.

"But he may not have anyone to look after him," she replied while looking down at him. Romeo looked back up at her, his eyes full of wonder and he tried to play with her hair. Seeing this filled Leanille's heart with a warmth she'd never felt before. This quickly made her decision, "I'll care for him."

Starvern raised an eyebrow. "Leanille, do you honestly believe you can raise a human child?"

"Their not that much different from elves," she held the child closer. "I can't explain it but I feel like this child was meant to come to me, so I will raise him as if he were my own kin."

Starvern smiled, the elf's kind heart something he was glad existed in this often uncaring world. "A human with an elven mother. Now I have heard everything."

"Mother?" She repeated before smiling, "mother. I like the sound of that." She looked back up at the dragon. "Okay. Starting today, I will be this child's mother."

Starvern looked down at the new family and couldn't help but smile. "Very well, I will entrust this child safety to you."

"Thank you," Leanille said looking down at her new son. "You hear that? You'll be staying with me." And in response, Romeo laughed.


	2. Born Human, Raised Elf, Trained Dragon 1

Romeo, age one

"Romeo, stay still!" Leanille laughed, having just bathed the year-old human and was now trying to dry him off. But the ever-playful child was busy running around their home, naked and dripping wet. "Come back here."

"NO!" he yelled, running for the door.

"No, you don't." She used her magic to control a potted plant, which gently wrapped around the boy before lifting him up and over to her. "Got you," she began scrubbing him down.

"It tickle," Romeo squealed while jerking around.

"It'll be over quicker if you stopped wiggling."

"It tickle."

"Finished," she said smiling, lifting Romeo out of the branch and carried him over to get dressed. "You're lucky you're cute."

* * *

Romeo, age two

Romeo was running around the field of clover, chasing butterflies while Leanille sat down and played a tune on her flute.

"Things look to be going well," she stopped playing and looked up to see Starvern flying down.

"Star!" Romeo yelled, running over to the giant dragon to play on his tail.

"Still can't say my name I see," Starvern chuckled while being careful not to crust the young human with his tail's movements.

"We're getting there," the elf replied. "I've been teaching him to read and write, he's been getting better every day."

The dragon nodding, dividing his attention between her, and gently sliding his tail around so Romeo had fun. "And the other issues."

Leanille began to frown, "I fear for him." She looked back at the boy clinging to the dragon. "You were right. His magic is growing. I fear he'll one day lose control."

"Strong magic can be dangerous without an outlet. Most of the time, the child's parent would have them learn a spell or two to exhaust the magic."

"I would teach him my magic, but."

"Humans can't learn Elven Magic."

"What can I do?" Leanille asked, looking up at her oldest friend. "I don't want to lose him."

Starvern saw the look of worry on her face before moving his head down until his eyes were level with hers, "don't fear. If his magic doesn't settle, then I shall teach him my magic."

She gasped at this, "you can do that?"

"It's called Dragon Slayer Magic. It will allow him to mimic my attacks and grant him dragonic powers."

"Is it safe?"

"In order to achieve this magic, he will have to breath in my essence and physically become part dragon. If he is too weak, he won't survive."

"No," she whispered.

"I'll only do it if there is no other choice," he assured her. "Other humans have been through this process and survived."

"Are you sure there is no other way?" she asked, still worried.

Starvern shook his head, "none that we can do." He watched as they look of worry turned to a look of terror, thinking fast to try and think of a way to calm her down before Romeo noticed her fear. "Hey, don't look down. His magic may settle down yet."

"I know. I just...worry."

"Momma," she saw Romeo running back up to her.

"Hi sweetie," she brought him into a hug. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed since he came into her life. Before, she'd always been pretty much alone and was fine with that. But now, she couldn't imagine a future where Romeo wasn't with her. No matter what, she would protect him.

* * *

Romeo, age three

"Momma?" Romeo asked from his spot next to her. They were currently near the river, collecting water.

"Yes?"

"Why do we look different?" She looked down at him and saw he was staring at their reflections. "You have blue hair and I have purple. Your ears are pointy, but mine isn't."

"Oh, Romeo." She had been dreading this day, but she didn't expect it so soon. This boy was to smart for his own good. "We look different because we are. I'm an elf and your human."

"Elf...human?"

"Like moths and butterflies. We look similar but are too different thing altogether."

"If we different," he said trying to properly piece the right words together. "Then how you my momma."

"I found you."

"Found me?"

"On this very river," she gestured to the stream. "I was walking to collect water just like today, when I heard you crying and found you lying in the basket we use for picnics."

"If you found me," the child asked still confused. "Where I come from?"

Leanille pulled him into a hug with her putting her chin on the top of his head. She then pulled something out of her pocket, the photo she had found along with him, she always had it on her as a reminder of the promise she made three years ago.

"This woman is your human mother," she pointed at the baby in the photo. "You know who that is?"

"Me?" he replied.

"Right," she turned it over. "Can you read that first line?"

Romeo stared at the words, recognising them. "P-p-please...pro-tect...my...Romeo?" He looked back up at her, "did human momma write this?"

"Yes," she nodded, "Starvern thinks your mother was in danger. And so, to keep you safe, she sent you to me."

"Then why didn't she come get me when she was safe?"

Leanille didn't know how to answer that. She had often wondered what had happened to his real mother. To send an infant down a river is the act of a person who had no hope. Chances are, she hadn't survived what happened to her. "I don't know sweetheart." she held him close to her, "maybe she felt you would be safer with me."

Romeo didn't look so sure.

"Romeo, look at me." He turned and stared at her, "I know you're confused by all this, but I promise that I'll protect you with my life."

Romeo looked up at his mother before tearing up and curling up into her chest. "Are humans good?"

"Some are," she said. She had been expecting this. Any self away being who just found out they were a completely different species from the ones they knew, would wonder if what they are was something to be feared.

"Some?"

"Yes," she nodded, "every living thing has the choice to do good or bad." She reached out and picked a lily from the ground. "This flower, is it good or bad?"

"Good," Romeo said while confused.

"Right," she placed the lily in the water and watched it float away. "Now, do you remember the time you fell in poison ivy?"

Romeo shivered at the memory "ivy bad."

"Exactly," she explained, "both are flowers but one is good and the other is bad. Humans are like that too. Good ones like you and the bad ones out there, same with elves. So we good ones need to work extra hard to keep the bad ones away, like the ones who put your mummy in danger."

Romeo just hugged her tighter "you my momma."

Leanille almost started crying herself. Yes, she would always keep him safe.

* * *

Romeo, age four

Fire spread throughout the forest as Romeo ran for his life. it had been so sudden.

Leanille had left to pick berries while Romeo decided to stay home and finish the book he had been reading. He was on the last chapter when an odd smell filled his nostrils, leading him to look outside and see the forest was ablaze. He knew the logical thing to do was stay inside and wait it out, but then he remembered his mother was out there and might need help.

Worry outweighing logic Romeo ran off to the berry orchid, staying as far from the flames as possible.

But then he saw something jump out of the flaming bushes, flying straight at him. Luckily, he managed to jump out of the way just in time. He looked up at the creature and instantly recognised it from the books he had read about them. "Flame Vulcan."

Flame Vulcans where vicious crimson coloured variant of Vulcans that spat fireballs. They were supposed to live on active volcanoes, so what were they doing here?

Romeo decided to ask that exact question. "What are you doing here? Did you burn the forest?"

"Maybe," the monkey monster said while smiling. He then let out a howl and beat his chest, his cries echoing through the burning forest. Suddenly more and more Flame Vulcans appeared around the boy.

"HELP!" He yelled, curling up as they all jump for him. This had to be a bad dream. Any minute now, he'd wake up and his mother would be there to hold him and shush away his fears.

"Vine Whipping!" The sound of the Vulcans cries filled the air.

Romeo looked up and smiled seeing his mother standing above him, her arms outstretched as she commanded the plants into battle. "Filthy monsters!" She was yelling. She never yelled. "You will not touch my son!" She swung her arms around, "Whomping Willow!" One of the flaming trees swung around, slamming three of them away.

But then a Vulcan dropped down in front of her. "WOMAN!" The Vulcan screamed as it launched a flaming fist at her. Still shocked by its appearance, Leanille was unable to protect herself and took the full force of the attack. Getting hit square in the stomach, she was sent flying into a large tree.

"MOMMA!" Romeo screamed, running over to his mother. "Momma, get up." But she just lay there. Romeo turned back to see the Vulcans charging once again, but was knocked away by a large tail. "Starvern" Romeo was glad the Strata Dragon was here to save them.

The Vulcans looked up at the giant lizard and stupidly thought they could take it, so all at once jumped at him fists raised. Starvern didn't look impressed. "Shooting Star Blast!" From the red crystal on his head, he fired an orange energy beam that hit the remaining monsters and obliterated them.

The danger now passed, Starvern raised himself to full height and took a deep breath. Doing so caused a mighty gust of wind the pulled the flames into his mouth, Starvern gulping them down like soup. Forest safe, the dragon looked down at his friend. "Leanille/"

The elf cracked her eyes open, looking up at the two before finally managing to speak. "it's...too late."

"No momma," Romeo threw himself around her. "Please, no."

"Romeo, listen to me." Despite the softness of her voice, Starvern could feel the pain she was in. "You have to go on without me"

"Me no go," he told her. "Me no go unless you come too."

"I can't," Leanille told him. A sudden burst of pain ripped through her body, making her flinch for several seconds. Once it was over, she turned to the Strata Dragon. "Starvern, protect him for me. Please."

"I will," Starvern nodded. "With my life, I will see to it that he can protect himself."

"Thank you," she said before turning back to her son. "I'm glad I got to meet you, and keep you safe." Her body started to glow a soft green light, scaring the young human

Romeo eyes watered, "momma."

"Promise me something. Promise me that no matter what, you'll stay the sweet caring child I love." Leanille was beginning to shake, "promise me."

"I..I promise," Romeo managed to say through his tears.

"Good," she pulled him close and whispered, "I love you." And before anything else could be said, she was gone. The green glow consumed her entire body before it exploded, bursting into a million tiny pieces of green light.

"MOMMA!" Romeo screamed, watching as the lights flew up into the sky and faded away.

* * *

Romeo stood atop Starvern's mountain home, right outside his cave.

He would live here now since most of the forest had been reduced to a burnt wasteland. He couldn't stop his mind from replaying the events in his head. Had this been his fault? If he'd stayed at home, would his mother still be alive?

Starvern slowly moved out of the cave, looking the boy over. "Romeo," he didn't turn to the dragon and just kept looking out at the horizon, "I can't promise the pain you feel now will go away. But, it will lessen over time."

"This pain," he said. "Have others felt it?"

"Yes," the dragon nodded. "Many dark and dangerous things existed in this world, and it is the duty of all those who are good to stand against them."

"Me fight," he told him with more determination then Starvern had ever heard from him. "Me protect those who can't fight"

"To do that, you must grow stronger." Romeo looked up at him, showing he was serious. "And with my help, you will." He bent down to look the child in the eye. "I will teach you my magic and you will become the Strata Dragon Slayer." Romeo just nodded and looked back out at the horizon. He would do it. No matter what, he wouldn't let this happen again.

"Me do it," Romeo said.

"Then it is time you were given a new name. One to show the powerful warrior you will become." Starvern came to full hight and looked up at the night sky. The stars were shining brightly and among them, one constellation seemed to shine brighter than the others at that moment. He nodded before proclaiming, "step fourth...Romeo Orion."

* * *

**Well folks, hope you enjoyed the second chapter. Sorry if I made anyone cry. **

**Many of you were probably wondering what element a Strata Dragon wielded, well hopefully this helped you figure it out. If not, a proper explanation will be given in the next chapter. See you then**


	3. Born Human, Raised Elf, Trained Dragon 2

**Romeo, age five**

"Strata Dragon, Roar!" Romeo screamed as he let loose the breath attack once again. The blast hit a rock and began to move it backwards, until Romeo lost footing and was shot back himself, rolling along the ground. The two of them were on a lower area of the mountain, where multiple boulders could be found. Romeo finally came to a stop near the edge of the ledge, his eyes spinning from the ride.

Starven unleashed a mighty laugh while watching him. "Well, your improving."

"How?" Romeo sat up and rubbed his head.

"This time you actually hit the rock before getting knocked on your rear end," he explained.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he picked himself up but found himself a little dizzy.

"I think that's enough for today," he told him as he got up and headed back up to the cave.

"Are you serious about me improving?" Romeo asked as he climbed. Flying up would be quicker, but this was good training.

"Yes," Starvern nodded. "Even if it's a little at a time, it will all add up." they finally got home and headed inside, "you've already mastered the Stardust Punch and Crushing Fang, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Romeo smirked, "and I'll keep getting better." Then, his stomach rumbled. "Right after I get something to eat."

"Indeed" Starvern agreed as he took out a large bowl that was filled with brown berries, "eat up."

Romeo stared into the bowl as a whiny pout appeared on his face. "Pulpa Berries, again?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"We had them yesterday, and the day before and the day before that."

Starvern frowned, hating the look on his face. "I'm sorry, Romeo. But there isn't much around these days." Ever since the fire a year ago, many of the trees were still regrowing. Starvern wished he could find something else but there wasn't...wait, "there is something else."

Romeo looked up at him curiously, "what?"

Starvern lowered his front paw, which was clawed up, as a small orange fireball formed within it. "This."

"You want me to eat fire?" Romeo asked in confusion. Had his guardian gone nuts?

"You've been training for a year now," the dragon told him. "I'm sure you're ready for element consumption."

"Element...consumption?"

"Dragons and Dragon Slayers are able to eat their element, giving them strength and re-energising them."

"So I can eat that?" He gestured to the fireball.

"Yes. Give it a try." Romeo looked at him sceptically but then moved over to the dragons claw, slowly taking the flame in his own hands. He opened his mouth and breathed in, hoping that he could eat it like soup. Then, to his surprise, the flames didn't hurt him and he sucked them into his stomach. "So?"

Romeo smiled and nodded "I like it."

"Atta boy!" The dragon cheered before making some more fire for him to eat, "dig in."

As Romeo chomped down, he looked back at the dragon. "Starvern."

"Yes?"

"You said dragons eat their elements to grow stronger."

"That's right."

"If we eat fire, then why aren't we called Fire Dragon and Fire Dragon Slayer?"

"Well spotted," Starvern smirked. Romeo might have only been with Leanille for a short time, but she'd taught him to be very analytical. "You see, we don't eat the fire. We eat the heat energy."

"Energy?"

Starvern nodded. "Though our kind are officially called Strata Dragons, we have many other names. Star Dragons, Space or Galaxy Dragon, and so on."

"Star Dragons?"

"Because we are known to stay in the outer stratosphere of the planet, feeding on energies that collect there."

"Stratosphere...Strata-sphere, I get it."

"Good," Starvern told him. "Strata Dragons can eat all kinds of elemental energies, fire, electricity and even radiation. To us the energy that fuels them allows us to consume them."

"So we can eat lots of elements?"

"Yes, so in a way that gives us the edge above other dragons who can only eat their own element."

"Awesome!" Romeo cheered as he scarfed the fire down.

* * *

**Romeo age 6**

Midnight approached in the forest as the creatures slept, but not everyone was asleep.

A small figure ran through the grass, once he entered the moonlight he was shown to be an Exceed. He was primarily orange with white around his mouth and chest, on his paws and the tip of his tail. He also wore a brown bandanna around his neck.

The Exceed continued to run as fast as he could, wishing he still had the energy to fly but he didn't.

The sound of growling signalled his hunters were getting closer, things only got worse when he found he had run into a dead-end. A large cliff face was infront of him, blocking his escape.

He turned around, only to see a pack of wolfs slowly approaching. The hunt was over, so now they could feast.

"P-please," he cowered, "n-no." The alpha wolf leapt for him, "HELP!"

"Strata Dragon, Stardust Punch!" A flash of light blinded him, making him look away. But the pained howling of the alpha made him force his eyes open, the sight before him making them go wide.

A young human boy stood infront of him, his fist lodged in the alphas gut. With one push, he sent it flying off towards the rest of the pack.

The boy smirked at the pack before turning to him, "you okay?" The Exceed was too shocked to speak, "hey! Snap out of it" the boy yelled.

"Sorry."

"What's your name?"

"I...I..I'm..." His name was Keenan but he couldn't seem to say that.

"Guess it's not important right now," he told him before turning back to the pack. "Okay, just stay behind me." The wolfs growled seeing their leader so easily deflected, said leader being back on its feet and commanding them to surround the two.

"We're done for," Keenan whimpered.

"Relax," Romeo told him, "we're not out yet." His hands flared up with orange magic and as the wolves charged, he swung his arms around. "Strata Dragon, Crushing Fang!" Energy blades shot out of his fingertips, whipping around and striking the wolves dead on to send them flying up.

"No way!" Keenan yelled in amazement. He knew humans could do magic, but he never expected one so young to be so strong.

"Strata Dragon, Roar!" Romeo let out his breath attack, hitting the wolves and sending them flying away.

Keenan watched in awe as the boy brushed himself off and turned to him. "That was fun." He walked over to the Exceed, who was now cowering away against the cliff face. "Hey, relax. I'm not gonna hurt ya kid." The boy knelt down so they were eye level, "you're an Exceed, right? My dad told me all about you guys."

"Dad?"

"The Strata Dragon, Starvern. I still haven't gotten a name."

"Keenan. My names Keenan," the Exceed told him. "Do you have a name?"

"Sure I do," the boy said before he struck a semi-cool pose. "I'm Romeo, Romeo Orion."

"Romeo," Keenan said before smiling.

"So Keenan," Romeo asked. "What you doing around here."

Keenan just looked down at the ground. "I'm looking for a place to live. I don't have anywhere else. My family abandoned me."

Romeo frowned, "I'm sorry." It was then, an idea hit him like a bolt of lightning. "Hey, why don't you stay here with me and Starvern?"

Keenan looked up in surprise, "really?"

"Why not?" Romeo asked, "this place gets way too boring. It'll be fun having someone else closer to my age. How old are you anyway."

"I'm three," Keenan said. "Are you sure it's okay for me to stay."

"I'm not taking no for an answer," Romeo told him. "now come on. It's a long climb back up." He walked over to the cliff to climb, but suddenly found himself flying up.

Looking behind him, he saw Keenan had sprouted wings and was carrying him up. "No need to climb any more."

Romeo smirked, seeing they were already way higher then he would have gotten himself. "Keenan, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

**Romeo age 7**

"Strata Dragon, Roar!" Romeo fired at Starvern, who narrowly dodged the attack so it just clipped his horn.

"Good shot, Romeo!" Keenan yelled. They were flying around the mountain, practising aerial combat. Since Keenan had arrived, Starvern had been sure to incorporate him into Romeo's training.

"Keep it up, boy!" Starvern yelled.

"Strata Dragon, Stardust Punch!" They flew in close and hit Starvern's left-wing, who mealy flapped it to push them back. "Let's try this," he enclosed his hands together and formed an orange energy ball. "Strata Dragon, Shooting Star Blast!" He launched the attack, becoming an energy beam that hit Starvern at blinding speed and pushed him back.

"Okay," the dragon said regaining his balance, "now thing get interesting."

Romeo smirked before looking back at the Exceed. "Keenan, drop me!"

The Exceed wasn't surprised by this, "you sure?"

"Do it!" And he did, leaving Romeo to plummet toward Starvern.

The dragon saw this and knew instantly what he was planning. "So...he thinks he can pull it off, huh?" He smirked, welcoming the challenge and flew up towards the boy.

Romeo closed his eyes and focused, "here's my chance." He concentrated all his magic into a single point in his body. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" He let loose, allowing his magic to flow at phenomenal speeds. "Atomic...STARBURST!" With one thrust of his fist, he launched at the dragon ready to deal the finishing blow.

But then-

All the magic in his body was gone, leaving the boy powerless. "What the-" Romeo started before blacking out and falling aimlessly.

"Romeo" Keenan yelled as he went after him, but Starvern had already caught the boy in his claws. "Is he okay?" Keenan saw Romeo was unconscious.

"He used to much magic at once," the dragon explained. "He miss-timed the attack and burned away his magic before he could hit me. He just needs some rest." The dragon flew around, "let's get back."

* * *

Romeo's head was on fire when he woke up. The pain was horrible, "what happened?"

"You screwed up the secret arts attack," Starvern said. He was sitting outside, staring up at the stars.

Romeo got up, being careful not to disturb Keenan as he slept, and headed outside to stare at the sky along with his father. "I'm sorry," he sighed in a sombre tone.

"I'm not mad," Starvern told him. "To even do that well at your age is impressive, just shows how strong you truly are."

"I'm only this strong thanks to you," Romeo smiled at him. "I'd be nothing without you."

"You can't think like that," Starvern said slightly harsh.

"But it's true."

Starvern sighed before looking back up at the moon. "Romeo, I won't always be here for you. One day, you and Keenan will find yourselves without me and will have to leave the safety of this forest."

"Why?"

"You asked me to make you strong so you could protect those who weren't. If you were to stay here, you would grow weak because of your lack of experience in the outside world. One day soon, you will have to spread your wings and leave the nest."

"But what would we do?" Romeo asked. How would he support himself with no idea how the world worked.

"Well," Starvern thought, "you could always join a guild."

"What's a guild?"

"The perfect place for you. Guilds exist all over Fiore. Wizards like you go there to require jobs in exchange for money. Guilds also fight against evil wizards, who try to hurt others."

That did sound perfect for him, "then I'll do that." He looked back up at the stars, ready to make a pledge the same way he did three years ago. "One day, I'll join a guild."

"Good boy," the dragon smiled while looking up at the sky. "Tell me, Romeo, do you know today's date?"

"Sure I do." Leanille had taught him how to determine the date by looking at the stars. After a quick reference he said, "July...fifth."

"Sixth," Starvern corrected, "tomorrow is July seventh. It is a date sacred to dragons."

"Really?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Four years ago, there was a terrible war between dragons and humans. Until the dragon on the human's side gifted them with a powerful magic, that would come to be known as Dragon Slayer Magic. On the seventh of July, the war ended and the dragons and humans began to live together in harmony. Now, on that day, every seven years, a great event occurs, the Dragon King Festival."

"Wow" Romeo was completely into the story, "were you in this war?"

"I was. I was barely a fledgeling back then," Starvern told him. "And I fought against humans."

"WHAT!" How could he have been against humans when he now trained one.

"I was a very different dragon back then. Young and foolish, I believed humans to be nothing more than vermin. Then, one day, I had a...premonition of sorts. I saw the true power of humans and chose to fight alongside them afterwards."

"I'm glad you did," Romeo told him.

"I am too," Starvern turned back to the cave. "ow it's time for bed."

"Fine," Romeo said, turning back and heading in the cave.

Starvern watched him fall to sleep before sighing and looking back up at the stars. "Leanille, forgive me. It is the only way."

* * *

The next morning, Romeo felt himself being shaken awake. "Romeo, Romeo wake up." He opened his eyes but shut them again due to the light...wait light? It was daylight? Starvern never let him sleep this late.

"Keenan?" Romeo sat up, "what time is it?"

"Later then we usually get to sleep," the Exceed replied.

"Hey, Starvern, what's with the lay in?" No answer, "Starvern?" Still, there was no response.

"That's why I woke you," Keenan explained. "Starvern isn't here."

"What?" Romeo got up and looked around, nothing. He looked outside, nothing. He even tried to track the dragon's scent, but it was gone. "I can't even smell him. Even if he left last night, he should have left some trace."

"What are you saying?" Keenan asked.

Romeo frowned, looking out at the forest. "He's gone." Why would he just leave like this, without telling him? Didn't he care about him.

_"Romeo, I won't always be here for you. One day you and Keenan will find yourselves without me and will have to leave the safety of this forest."_

The memory flooded back to him, what Starvern had told him last night. "He wants me to grow stronger."

"What?" Keenan asked.

"Last night, he said that if I want to get stronger then we need to do it without him. He's left so I can grow stronger on my own."

"SO YOUR SAYING HE'S ABANDONED US!" Keenan yelled.

"Looks like it," Romeo said.

"So what do you think we should do now?" Keenan asked, looking worried.

Romeo already knew that and turned back into the cave. "Pack every bit of food you can find."

"Are we going somewhere?"

"We're going to join a guild."

"What's a guild?"

"I'll explain on the way." He went over to the large sack he used whenever he went camping and filled it with all his clothes as well as the though personal belongings he had. His mother's old flute and the picture of his birth mother.

"I'm done," Keenan flew over while holding a sack of food. "Are we really going to do this?"

"We can't stay here," Romeo took the sack and packed it into his. "Starvern's right, we need to see the world."

"I guess," Keenan frowned.

"Hey, don't give me that look." Romeo picked him up, "I know you're scared and I am too. But as long as we stick together, we'll be fine"

Keenan smiled, "right."

"That's the spirit. now let's get going." Romeo swung his sack over his shoulder before Keenan grabbed him and took to the skies, out of the forest that had shielded him his whole life, and into the real world.

* * *

**Well, there's chapter three. Now we're getting into the real story. So yeah, Romeo has his own Exceed and hiss element is energy. I've always liked the idea of a dragon that lives in space but wondered what kind of element they would control. So when I realised Stars are just balls of burning gas, along with many other space stuff that gives off energy, I realised how powerful an energy-based Dragon Slayer would be. Hope you liked it and I look forward to hearing what you think.**

**Next time, Romeo runs into a certain guild.**


	4. Strata Dragon Magic

It had been a month since Starvern's vanishing act and the two were now entering a new town.

So far, the two had been to several small towns and villages hoping to find a guild to join. But they soon learned that there weren't any guilds in this part of the country, meaning they would need to go to some of the larger cities if they wanted to join one.

But to get there quicker, they would need to take something called a train. That was why they were in this town right now, having been directed there by a kindly old women they had asked. But when they got to the station-

"What do you mean I can't take a train?" Romeo yelled to the man at the booth.

The man rolled his eyes. "I'm saying...that if you want to ride the train, then you need to buy a ticket. One hundred and fifty Jewel each."

"What's Jewel?" Romeo asked, getting an odd look from the man. Ten seconds later, Romeo and Keenan felt themselves being thrown from the building and landing face-first into the ground.

"This is a place of business kid," the man yelled. "I don't have time of jokes." And with that, he about-faced and left.

"Well that went well," Keenan joked as he picked himself up and dusted themselves off. The two headed over to a park in the centre of the village.

"How are we supposed to find a guild when we can't even get to these big cities their in?" Romeo asked as they walked.

Keenan sighed. "You'd think Starvern would have told us how to get to a guild, or just dropped us off at one."

Romeo was about to reply when he suddenly bumped into somebody.

Looking up he saw it was an older man with wild black hair wearing a poncho, besides him was a man with blonde hair in a mushroom cut. "Hey kid," poncho man smiled down at him. "You okay."

"Err...yeah," Romeo replied sheepishly shyly. He was still getting used to talking to people, especially intimidating adults. His eyes spotted a pair of guns strapped to the man's waist, Starvern had taken to liberty of teaching him about weapons, which put him on a slight edge.

"Is that an Exceed?" Mushroom hair asked, walking up and staring closely at Keenan. "Haven't seen one of you in a while."

"Err..." Was all Keenan say, feeling slightly terrified.

"Max, back off." Poncho man grabbed his shoulder, "you're scaring him."

"Sorry," the guy names Max backed off.

"It's okay," Keenan replied as Poncho man knelt down so he was eye level with Romeo.

"I'm Alzack, what's your name?"

"Romeo," he replied while not looking him in the eye.

"So, where are your parents Romeo?" Alzack asked.

"Not around," Romeo told him before walking off. "We need to get going now. Come on Keenan."

"Coming," Keenan turned back to the men, "nice meeting you." He then flew off after his friend, leaving the two adults to stair at their backs until they vanished from sight.

"Well that was weird," Max finally spoke up.

"Did that kid remind you of anyone?" Alzack asked.

"Yeah, he's a bit moodier then him but."

Alzack nodded, "it felt like I was standing infront of Natsu or Gajeel."

"Think it's just because he has an Exceed?" Max asked.

"No, it's more than that. He felt like them as well. Whenever they were nearby they gave of this feel, you know?"

"Can't say I do;" Max replied. "Come on man, I know it's hard but we've got to move on. I'm sure seeing that kid and his cat just reminded you of them and your head's playing tricks on you."

He may be right. It had been nearly a year since Fairy Tail had lost its previous Guildmaster and best wizards. In that time, the Guild had been really suffering. They'd lost most of its members, meaning they couldn't complete as many jobs. That led to them being kicked out of their old guildhall, forced to make an old barn their new base.

Alzack and Max were in town on the way home from a job in a nearby village, planning to catch a train home later that day.

"Come on man, we still got some time. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure" Alzack replied. They headed up the street to a nearby cafe, both holding to get something cheap and filling.

But then-

KABOOM!

A nearby building exploded, sending the two flying. They both hit the ground with a thud, coughing after accidentally inhaling some smoke. But once they got the bearings, they looked towards the building and saw it was a bank.

Ten masked men ran out of it, each holding large guns and carrying bags of money. "Hay!" Alzack yelled, jumping to his feet before running after them.

"Sand Wall!" Max created a barrier that blocked off the masked men.

"Wizards!" One of them yelled as they turned towards the two. When they did, Alzack noticed a guild mark on their masks.

"Spiral Bullet! The Dark Guild of gunners."

"Heard of us, have you?" The leader smiled, dropping the bag he was carrying before pulling out a large pistol. "Why don't we just go our separate ways and everyone's happy."

"Not happening," Max reached for his gun as the two took a fighting stance.

"You try to be reasonable," the leader sighed. "Boys," his men began firing the same red energy bullets at them.

Max managed to make another Sand Wall around the two, protecting them. "Gun Magic, Spark Shot" Alzack drew his own duel pistols and fired his electron bullets at the men, hitting two of them.

"Seems they have a gunslinger to," the leader yelled. "But a gunman is nothing without a sniper," he turned to a nearby building. "Now!"

In the corner of his eye, Alzack spotted movement to their right. "Look out!" He yelled to Max, but it was to late. A pair of bullets struck them both in the chest before transforming into metal cables, which wrapped around the wizards and knocking them over.

"No!" Max yelled as they tried to break free, but the cords were to strong.

"We warned you," the leader walked up to them before pointing his pistol at Alzack's head.

"No!" Max struggled against his bonds, trying to wiggle free and save his friend.

Alzack was frozen with fear. Was this it? He never even got to hold his child.

"Goodbye," the leader laughed, about to pull the trigger.

When something slammed into the side of his head, causing him to jerk back in pain. "The fuck!" He looked at the floor and saw what had hit him was a small rock. Everyone looked to where it had flown from and gasped.

Max and Alzack realised it was the kid they had run into earlier. Romeo, Keenan on his shoulder, stood about twenty foot away from them lazily tossing another rock up in the air before catching it.

"So, what's going on here?" Romeo asked.

The Spiral Bullet leader growled at the boy, "you got a lot of nerve kid."

Romeo seemed unphased by the threat and asked, "are you a guild?"

No one was expecting him to ask that, "and if we are?"

"I was told guilds were meant to protect people," Romeo explained. "Not attack them."

"This is a dark guild!" Max yelled to him, "different from regular guilds."

"Mushroom cuts right!" The leader yelled. "Why should we answer to others, when our magic gives us the power to just take what we want."

Romeo frowned and looked towards the ground. "So in other words, you're just like the ones who took her." His voice had gone strangely dark, "then I have no choice-" He looked back up, showing eyes filled with rage, "but to destroy you!"

Silence fell as they registered this, the dark guild then bursting out laughing. "Destroy us?" the leader asked as he held his sides. "Funny kid." He turned to one of his men and nodded.

The man fired his pistol at Romeo, the energy bolt flying straight at him. It exploded when it reached him.

"ROMEO!" The Fairy Tail Wizards screamed, expecting to see bits and pieces begin to fly off down the street.

The leader sniggered at this, "just goes to show why kids shouldn't mess in adults business." He waited for the smoke to clear, so he could see the brats remains. The smoke finally dissolved and everyone gasped at what they saw.

Romeo stood there, completely unphased. His hand was raised, showing the energy ball still fizzling. He had caught the attack.

"Th..tha..at's impossible," the leader stuttered.

"Thanks," Romeo brought the energy ball up to his mouth, "I could use a snack." With that, he opened his mouth and took a bite out of the ball. Everyone's eyes slowly grew wide as he continued to munch down the bullet, eventually finishing it. He smiled as he wiped his mouth, "tasty."

"He ate the attack," Max whispered.

"Just like..." Alzack couldn't finish, because it sounded unbelievable. Could there really be another?

"Now let's see how you deal with my magic," Romeo began taking a deep breath. "Strata Dragon-"

"A Dragon Slayer," Alzack whispered as he and Max hit the deck. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"ROAR!" And orange blast of energy shot out of his mouth, straight at the Spiral Bullet members. An explosion followed as the dark guild wizards were sent hurtling down the street. The whole section of the street shook from the shockwave, the smoke from the attack beginning to fade and show the dark wizards picking themselves up

"What is this kid?" One of the men moaned, getting back up but standing dizzily.

"Keenan, help them!" Romeo yelled as he ran passed the guild wizards. Keenan flew down to them and started trying to untie Alzack.

"But what about him?" the gun mage asked.

The Exceed smirked as he began scratching at the cables. "Romeo'll be fine, just watch."

Romeo ran towards the criminals at blinding speed. The Spiral Bullet wizards had retrieved their weapons and began firing at him, to which Romeo only had to either sidestep or punch them away while not even slowing down.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the sniper that had hit the adults, ready to fire at him too. "Not this time!" He yelled, bringing his hands together. "Strata Dragon, Shooting Star Blast!" He thrust his hands out Kamehameha style, an energy beam shooting out at the man and hitting the bit of roof under of him. The blast caused the man to be sent flying forwards off the roof before falling about ten feet into the ground.

"Someone hit him already!" The leader ordered.

"It's no use!" One of the men cried, "our attacks have no effect."

"It's just a kid," he yelled back. "Hit him with something."

Two men ran forwards, planning to use their guns as clubs. They swung them at Romeo's head, but the next second he was gone. "What?" they all yelled until they looked up.

"Strata Dragon-" Romeo had jumped above them and was currently mid-air, "Flare Nebula!" An orange fireball formed between his hands, which grew larger as he lifted it above his head. Once he was happy with its size, he threw his arms down and send the fireball flying down towards the criminals.

KABOOM!

The street exploded, hitting every member of Spiral Bullet. The only one even slightly unscathed was the leader, who was now running from the boy.

"Where do you think you're going?" he heard. Looking up, he saw Romeo soaring towards him. He jumped to the side as the child landed, turning the area into a dust cloud.

He crawled backwards, terrified, as he watched the figure just walk out of the dust. What was he? He couldn't be any older than ten years old, but he had more power than ten armed criminals.

"Please," he whimpered out, "take pity on me."

"Pity is all I have for monsters like you," Romeo growled as his hands ignited into orange flames. "This is where it ends." He launched himself at the man, fist raised ready to end it.

"STOP!" Romeo skidded to a halt inches from the criminal, then turned to see Alzack and Max were freed and running towards him. "This isn't right" Alzack told him.

"What?" Romeo asked. Isn't this what wizards did? Get rid of monsters like him. "This man was about to kill you."

"And if you kill him it'll make you a monster too," Alzack replied.

"Show your better then him," Max explained. "Show them mercy. Show them you're stronger than them because you don't have to kill."

Romeo heard this and couldn't help but remember what his mother had said to him before she died.

* * *

_"Promise me something. Promise me that no matter what, you'll stay the sweet caring child I love." Leanille was beginning to shake, "promise me."_

* * *

"I promised," Romeo told himself. He lowered his fist, dissolving his magic, and fell to his knees. Keenan landed in his arms and he instinctively began to hug him.

Alzack and Max walked up to him and each placed a hand on his shoulders. "Come on," Max said. "The army will arrive shortly to get them. We should leave before we get caught up in the havoc."

Romeo nodded and got up, walking off. "Hey, wait!" He heard Alzack yell after him, "where are you going?"

"Wherever my feet lead me," he replied.

Keenan flew out of his arms and up to them, "can we ask if you know where the closest guild is?"

Both men's eyes shot open wide, "you looking for a guild to join?" Max asked, seeing Keenan nod before continuing. "If you want, we can take you to our guild."

This got Romeo's attention, "you guys are in a guild?"

Both wizards nodded before pulling off a piece of clothing, showing the same mark tattooed on their skin. "We're wizards of Fairy Tail," Alzack told him.

"And if you want," Max covered his mark. "The two of you can join our guild."

Romeo smiled, this was his chance. "I do."

They both nodded before Max looked at his watch. "Crap! If we don't hurry, we're gonna miss the train."

"We better run," Alzack turned to the kid, "think you can keep up?"

Romeo and Keenan smiled, "can you?" And they ran off towards the station, ready to head off to Fairy Tail.

* * *

Sorry for the wait. Been busy. Hope you liked this chapter. Next time, Romeo meets his new family.

Hope to hear what you think about this story. Drop me a comment if you can. Always happy to see what people thing of my work.


	5. Fairy Tail's New Members

Alzack had told Romeo it would take all night to get to Magnolia by train, a fact that Romeo had been excited about at first. Getting to ride a train for approximately twelve hours sounded fun, and it was...for approximately twelve seconds.

"Get me off this thing" Romeo yelled from his seat, well it was supposed to be a yell, but instead came out as a whiny moan. As soon as the train had started moving Romeo's stomach started acting funny, and before he knew it he was completely incapacitated, feeling like he was gonna be sick with each bump and shake.

"Are you okay" Keenan asked.

Max and Alzack were as surprised as they were. "Man," Max said "serious deja vu."

"Motion sickness" Alzack told the Exceed, "an old friend of ours had the same problem."

"So he'll be like this for the whole journey?" Keenan asked.

"Yep," they both nodded.

"How long will it take to get to Magnolia?" The cat asked.

"About twelve hours," Alzack said.

"And how long has it been?"

"Five minutes" Max replied Romeo wanted to cry.

* * *

_Eleven hours and fifty-five minutes later._

Romeo practically had to crawl onto the station off the train. "Never again," he told them.

"Natsu used to say that," Alzack said.

"Is he the one you talked about earlier?" Keenan asked.

"Yeah, he was a Dragon Slayer too" Max explained.

"Another Dragon Slayer" Romeo said finally recovered. Starvern never said there were others, "where is he?" It was that point that he knew something was wrong when he saw their faces.

They both frowned and looked to the ground. "He's dead."

"He died just under a year ago with two other Dragon Slayers and the guilds best wizards."

"How?"

The two looked at each other unsure of what to say, then finally "they were attacked by a dragon, named Acnologia."

The two froze hearing this. A dragon defeated three Dragon Slayers, how powerful was it.

They remained in silence for a short while as they left the train station, but soon something else caught Romeo's attention. The size of the big city was intimidating, even more so to a boy who had spent his entire life in a forest.

He made sure to stay close to Alzack as possible. People of all shapes, sizes and colours passed them as they walked through the streets, Romeo wasn't sure what to expect. But no matter how intimidating it was, he couldn't look away from it all.

"So this is your first time in a big city?" Max asked, he noticed Romeo's simple nod.

"Well you'll be spending a lot of time here," Alzack said, "joining a guild usually requires living in the guilds city."

"So where can we live," Keenan had asked.

"Where ever you can find?" Max told them, "you can stay at the guildhall for a while until you get a place to live."

"I guess," Romeo told them.

Eventually they crossed the city and ended up in a wooded outskirts. There, atop of the large hill, was a building and farm like area, Romeo felt more comfortable here than in the city.

"This is it" Alzack said.

"I know it's not much," Max said but was cut off by Romeo yelling.

"It's awesome" he and Keenan ran up the building, when the door suddenly shot open slamming the seven-year-old in the face. "Ow," Romeo found himself on his backside clutching his nose.

"Romeo, you okay?" Keenan asked.

"Ask me again when the world stops spinning," Romeo said sitting up. When the dizziness ended he looked up, and saw a man with greying purple hair wearing a white overcoat looking down at him.

"You okay kid?" the man asked.

"Macao" Alzack said when he got there.

"Oh hay you two," the man named Macao said. "Who's your new friend?"

Max helped Romeo up. "Romeo, meet the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail. Macao Conbolt. Macao, this is Romeo Orion. He wants to join the guild."

Macao's eyes went wide hearing this. He turned to Romeo and smiled, "nice to meet you. So, what magic do you have?"

"I'm a Strata Dragon Slayer," he almost started laughing when he saw Macao's reaction.

The older man turned to the younger gentlemen, "is he?"

They nodded in response as Max explained, "We saw him take down ten armed bandits ourselves."

"Impressive," Macao turned back and walking back inside the tavern, "come on in."

The inside was very empty, filled with bar tables and stools. The walls were faded, cracked and peeling. Too anyone else it would be a dump, but to Romeo, it felt just like home.

"Welcome," a girl wearing green with violet hair said from behind a bar counter, "hello there little one," she smiled when she saw Romeo come over. "What can I get you."

"I..." Romeo wasn't sure what to have, "don't know."

"How about a milkshake?" Macao suggested. "Kinana, one strawberry milkshake for our newest members."

"New members?" she smiled, "haven't had one of those in a while." She handed him and the Exceed the pink drink. Romeo and Keenan looked at the milkshake questionably before taking small sips, which increased every second.

"Wow," Alzack warned, "slow down there. it isn't going anywhere."

"What's not going anywhere?" They all turned around to see a young woman, with green hair and a cowboy hat. But what Romeo noticed the most was her oddly swollen stomach.

Now it's not like Romeo didn't understand what this was, Leanille had explained how humans reproduce. It's just this was the first time he had ever seen a pregnant human before.

Behind her, more and more people entered the small tavern. Two men, one of which was wearing a giant hat, a man carrying a painting set, a girl with purple hair and large glasses, two men one in a black catsuit the other with a skull necklace and finally a man smoking a pipe.

None of them seemed to notice Romeo and Keenan, but they did notice Alzack rushing up to the pregnant green-haired girl, and pulled her into a hug.

"What's brought this on?" She asked.

"Let's just say" Alzack replied "something showed me not to take life for granted."

She didn't seem too pleased at his response, "did something happen?"

"Yeah," Max replied from his spot at the table, "we almost died."

A collective gasped spread throughout the hall. "What happened?" Macao asked.

"We stopped off in Foxglove yesterday to catch a train here," the sand mage explained. "While there, we ran into the Spiral Bullet guild robbing a bank and gave chase."

"But they got the drop on us and almost got us," Alzack went on. He then turned towards the seven-year-old, "until we were saved." It was at this moment that they noticed Romeo and Keenan.

"Everyone," Macao stepped in at this moment, "let me introduce Romeo and Keenan. They'll be joining us from here on."

Everyone swarmed the duo at this, asking questions about them. Until the green-haired woman came up to him, "you saved my husband?" When Romeo nodded yes, she pulled him into a hug. "Thank you." she pulled away and smiled at him. "I'm Bisca."

"Romeo Orion," he replied. "and this is Keenan" his little cat friend waved at them.

"So what kind of magic do you use" the smoking man asked.

Alzack came up and explained. "Romeo here is a Dragon Slayer," everyone gasped at this.

"Another?" The man in the catsuit said.

"It's true," Max nodded. "We watched him take down an entire dark guild on his own."

"WOW!" Was all Romeo heard next. You'd think being a Dragon Slayer was rare or something.

Macao stepped forwards, now holding an odd-looking object. "Okay," he said, "where do you want your emblems?"

"Our what's" Romeo and Keenan asked.

"Emblem," he replied before rolling up his right sleeve, revealing a purple mark on his forearm. Everyone did the same, showing the same mark in different colours on parts of their bodies. "Guild wizards wear their guilds emblem to help people distinguish them from other guilds, and here at Fairy Tail we wear it as a vow."

"Vow?"

Bisca continued, "a vow to protect those in need."

"To never use our skills for wrong," Max went on.

"And to always stick together, through everything we may come up against," Macao finished. "Fairy Tail isn't just a guild filled with people who work together. It's a family."

Family. Romeo would like to have a family again. "Okay," he pointed at his left shoulder. Macao took what he called a stamp and pressed it to his skin. When he pulled away, a red Fairy Tail emblem was now present.

Macao then turned to the exceed. "We can put it on your back, Keenan."

"Okay," Keenan turned around so he could get stamped. Seconds later, he wore a black mark on his back.

"Okay," the smoker spoke up, "I'd say this calls for a celebration."

"PARTY!" everyone yelled and broke out drinking. In that day, Romeo was introduced to everyone, shown around the guildhall and told how a guild wizard works.

"And this is the Job Board," Kinana showed them the wooden board with pieces of paper taped to it. "You pick a job you want to do and show it to me or Macao."

"What are the letters in the corners for?" Keenan asked, pointing at the letters in the top right of each page. Most of them had Es and Ds on, but a couple had Cs, Bs and one was an A.

"Those are the difficulty," she explained. "E class jobs could be done without magic, D class jobs are ones that require magic but are very simple. C and B classes are a lot harder and A-class quests are usually ones sent to us by the magic council or incredibly rich clients."

"Wow," the two whispered, staring at them all.

"You won't be allowed to take A-class jobs right away," she told him. "You'll start at E and D class then work your way up as you gain experience."

"Makes sense," Romeo replied before noticing something else on the board. "What does this mean?" He asked, pointing at some strange markings that were on all the jobs."

"That's the reward amount. It tells you how much Jewel the client is willing to pay for the job you do."

"Jewel?" Romeo asked, he then remembered the trainman saying the same thing. "What is Jewel?"

Kinana looked confused at the question, "you know, Jewel...money."

"Money?" Romeo asked.

Everyone else had noticed the boys confusion, then realised something. Being raised by a dragon, Romeo wouldn't need money. So of cause he wouldn't know what it is.

Macao sighed before turning to the rest of the guild, "looks like it's up to us to teach him." He looked back at the child. "Romeo," he got the boys attention, "how much human contact have you had?"

"Not much," the boy replied. "Up until about a month ago, I spent my whole life in a forest."

"Thought so," Macao sighed. "Well, then I'm going to have to hold back on missions for you for a while, at least until I'm sure you can deal with the ups and downs of human life."

"Seriously," Romeo moaned.

"It won't be for long," Macao explained. "in the meantime, you can get used to the city and everything else."

And thus began Romeo's Fairy Tail career.

* * *

And so Romeo and Keenan finally meet their new family. How will their career as Fairy Tail Wizards pan out? Only one way to find out.


	6. Romeo's First Job

Over the next though weeks, Romeo was subjected to what would come to be known as 'Human Life Lessons.'

The first thing the Fairy Tail members did, was ask what he did know about human life. He went on to tell them how he knew how to read and write, and also how to play his mother's old flute, but other than that Romeo was completely in the dark about the world.

Kinana and Max were in charge of teaching him about numbers and basic maths, to help with understanding the rewards on jobs. Jet and Droy would show Romeo around the city, showing him and Keenan where to go to get what like food or books and clothing. Everyone else was to simply help Romeo whenever they saw him struggle with something, which thankfully wasn't often.

Macao had also allowed him to go on D class missions. So far, Romeo had carried large boxes for an elderly man, helped light a broken stove for a restaurant and helped fix a leaky roof. All the while under the supervision of a guildmate.

And last was the training. Fairy Tail made sure to assess his fighting skills, since the only reason Romeo had beaten the Spiral Bullets was because they used weapons that he was immune to. When faced with an enemy who didn't use energy-based magic, he was in trouble.

In his first week, he had worked with Max and ended up almost getting blinded by his sand.

Finally, one month after joining. Romeo and Keenan woke up from their temporary bed on the guild's second floor and headed downstairs, where Kinana was preparing for the day ahead. "Morning," she spoke to the sleepy boys.

"Morning," they replied while sitting down. She placed a breakfast of ham and eggs infront of him, along with a plate of fish for Keenan.

"Morning all," they turned to see Macao and Wakaba walking in. "Good news Romeo," Macao told them. "You've been working so hard lately, that we've decided to allow you to go on a higher class job."

"Really?" Romeo jumped off his stool, "a real job."

"Nothing too dangerous," Wakaba told him.

"And Jet and Droy will be going with you." As if on cue, Jet and Droy arrived alongside the Connells, Max and Reedus.

"Hey, Romeo" Jet stated. "You ready to go do some real work today?"

"Yeah," Romeo nodded.

"Which job are we gonna do?" Keenan asked, face stuffed with fish.

"Well let's see." Romeo went up to the request board, looking over the notes trying to find the perfect job. He needed something challenging, but not so difficult that he would need the others to way in because he got overwhelmed.

Then one caught his eye. It was a C class job.

Find My Daughter

My Daughter has been missing for five days. Please help me

Reward: J200,000

"What about this one?" He took the note and handing it to Macao, who viewed for a second.

"You think you can do this?" Macao asked.

Romeo nodded. "With my sense of smell, it'll be easy."

"That's true," Macao answered with a smile. "Then take it."

"Alright!" Romeo and Keenan cheered.

Everyone smiled at this while Kinana moved from behind the bar. "Well, since your taking a real job, you need to look the part." She turned to Bisca, "it finished?"

Bisca nodded, "added the last touches to it last night." Romeo then noticed she was holding a paper bag, which she handed to him. "Here you go."

Romeo took the bag and opened it up to find a new set of clothes. It was a sleeveless black shirt that was cut upwards towards the neck, with orange on the outskirts that connect and form an orange stripe going down each side.

A pair of brown loose-fitting shorts, which stopped beyond the knee, with black cuffs on the end of each leg below two side pockets. A pair of orange shoes and finally, black fingerless gloves.

"Wow," he took them out to look over.

"We knew you'd like them," Kinana smiled before Bisca spoke up.

"Go try them on."

Romeo ran upstairs and quickly changed out of his old clothing and into the new ones. Everything fit him perfectly.

He headed back down where a large mirror was now standing, most likely Reedus's work. "You look great" Kinana stated, everyone else saying the same thing as Romeo looked himself up and down.

Something was missing from it. And though the others didn't see it, Romeo did. "Hold on," he went over to his bag and fumbled around until he found what he was looking for. It was a pair of goggles that were orange with black straps. Romeo had bought them with the money he had gotten from his practise jobs, planning to use them against Max the next time they sparred.

Romeo put them on his forehead and looked back at his reflection. Now he looked right.

* * *

Romeo felt like was going to throw up. The job took place in a town two miles west of Magnolia, meaning they had to take a carriage there, meaning Romeo was in hell.

"Man, you do get motion sick," he heard Jet say.

"I wonder if it's a side effect of Dragon Slayer Magic," Droy theorised.

"I don't remember Wendy or Gajeel having this problem," Jet replied.

"Don't worry Romeo," Keenan patted his back. "We'll be there soon."

"We'll be arriving in five minutes," they heard the driver say.

"Good," Jet turned to the boy, "we should wait a while before seeing the client. Don't want you throwing up on them." They finally reached the town of Larkspur, where the carriage dropped them off at the gates and leaving them to find the address printed on the flyer.

Romeo was finally back up to speed when they turned into the street. "Number Six, West Lane." Droy pointed out the building, being a nice looking home with a white picket fence and garden.

Jet pushed Romeo forwards, "go on."

Romeo nodded and knocked on the door. After a second it opened showing a brunette woman in her mid-twenties.

"Hello?" She asked. Romeo tried to introduce himself, but it hit him that he had no idea what to say and just stood there frozen.

"We," Jet stepped forward, "are the wizards who took your request."

"Oh, thank you," she stepped aside. "Come in, please." The four stepped into a very empty house, guess you can't judge a book by its cover, as the women lead them into the living room. "Please, take a seat." She pointed to a beaten old coach.

"Now then," Droy spoke as they sat. "Tell us everything you know. It'll help us with our investigation."

"Okay," she nodded. "First off, my name is Etha. My daughter, Julieta, is five years old. Five days ago, we had an argument about her not having any friends around and that she wanted to move somewhere else. When I said no, she ran off to her room and later when I checked on her, she was gone."

"We're sorry for everything," Jet told her. "Be assured, we'll do everything in our power to find her."

Romeo decided now he needed to say something. "Do you have anything with her scent on it?" His question caught Etha off guard.

"Why would you need to know?" she asked.

"My magic will allow me to track her scent," he explained. "But since I've never met her, I'll need something with it on. A piece of clothing or an object she always carries, anything she's spent a lot of time with."

Etha thought for a moment before getting up, "follow me." They walked up to the second floor and into a room that they didn't expect to be in this house. The whole room was coloured pink, covered in flowers and ponies.

"You might find something in here". Romeo nodded and started sniffing around the room, starting with the bed and working around. "Are you sure this'll work."

Jet nodded, "we've tested it from one side of Magnolia to the other. Once he gets a scent, he'll lock on."

"Got it!" They turned to see Romeo holding a toy unicorn to his nose, "her scent."

"That's her favourite toy," Etha explained.

"And it'll lead us straight to her," Romeo announced as he ran to the window.

"Wait, Romeo," Jet started but the boy had already opened the window and jumped. Landing in the garden, he rushed out the yard. "That kids got no patience," he moaned before turning back to the room. "Let's go."

"I'll follow Romeo," Keenan flew out the window.

Droy turned to Etha, "you better stay here."

"Okay," she replied, "please bring my daughter back."

"We will," Jet promised as they ran back downstairs and out the door, following Romeo and Keenan.

Romeo ran as fast as he could, following the scent down the path. He knew he shouldn't have run off on his own, but stopping for even a second risked him losing the scent.

He noticed he was getting closer to a wooded area where the scent lead. "In there?" He jumped over the stream between them and headed in, following the smell he finally until came to a stop in an open clearing.

"Romeo!" Keenan yelled as he caught up, Jet and Droy not far behind.

"You can't go running off like that," Jet told him, only noticed Romeo was staring into the clearing. "What's the matter?" He stepped forwards, but Romeo threw his arm up, blocking him.

"Something happened here," Romeo slowly walked around the area. "She was sitting there," he pointed to a spot on the grass that was slightly flattened. "Then something came into the area from here," he pointed to the area behind him. "It moved up to her slowly from behind." He crept forwards, "and grabbed her, lifting her up off the ground." He looked around the area and noticed something on a grass shard. "She bit him," he plucked the grass up and showed them a speck of blood on it. "He dropped her here," pointing to another area of bent grass. "Before he kicked her," he moved over to a nearby tree. "Into this," he bent down and took something off the ground.

"What is it" Jet asked moving over to him.

Romeo turned back and held out his hand before dropped something into Jet's. It was a pink butterfly clip. "Must have fallen off when she hit the tree."

"The thing that attacked her," Romeo continued. "It moved over to her and then both their scents head off in that direction." He pointed further into the forest.

"This could be more than we originally thought," Droy stated.

Jet nodded, "we have to be careful."

"I will," Romeo headed further into the woods.

"Your our eyes, Romeo," Keenan told him.

"You can count on me," he replied.

They followed the scent on and on until they came to a stop at a small lake, with a waterfall feeding it. Romeo sniffed as hard as he could and found...nothing. The smell was gone.

"What do you mean it's gone?" Jet asked when he told them.

"I mean gone, vanished, not there anymore."

"How can that happen?" Keenan asked.

"They must have jumped into the water and washed off the scent," Romeo answered. "Water tends to cloak them for a while."

"Do you think whoever took her is on to us?" Droy asked.

"She disappeared five days ago," Jet told him. "If something did attack her they, could be miles away."

Romeo wasn't so sure. Even if they did cover themselves in water, there was still a way to track them. He circled the lake, feeling the ground, but felt no water anywhere. It hadn't rained lately so the only water on the ground, should be from a wet person getting out of the lake and walking off. But there wasn't.

Romeo continued to sniff the air but found no trace of them moving away from the lake. "If they did go in the water, they didn't come back out."

"You mean they drowned?" Droy asked, scared at what they would have to say to Etha.

"Or the lake leads somewhere," Keenan replied while catching on to what Romeo was thinking. "The lake would have made a stream by now due to the waterfall unless the water was being drained somewhere."

"Let's see," Romeo pulled down his goggles and dipped his head into the lake. Thanks to the sunlight and his heightened eyesight, he could see clearly under the water and there, hidden by the waterfall, was an opening in the rock face. "There's a hole!" Romeo stated when he got back up, "who wants to bet they went through it."

Jet and Droy smiled at the boy. "Way to go, kid," Jet ruffled his hair as he removed his coat and hat. "The two of us will go ahead, you two stay here until we check that it's safe."

"What?" both he and Keenan yelled, "but this is our mission."

"When this was just a lost child mission, yes. But now it's a rescue. It could be dangerous."

"You do remember I'm a Dragon Slayer, right? I think I can handle this."

"Doesn't matter," Droy stated. "You're staying here." And with that, he and Jet jumped into the lake and through the hole.

And so Romeo waited...and waited...and waited some more. "What's taking them so long?" Romeo asked Keenan after about twenty minutes.

"Maybe it's just a super long tunnel," Keenan guessed.

"They would have turned back by now, no one can hold their breath that long" he looked down at the water. This was supposed to be his mission and he had been reduced to waiting for someone else to finish. "Well, not anymore!" Romeo lowered his goggles.

Keenan wondered what he meant by that, "what are you-" but before he could finish Romeo leapt into the lake. "Romeo!"

Romeo began swimming, though not very well considering he never learned. Luckily it was shallow enough for him to easily get to the hole, and then let the current do all the work.

He felt like he was going down a water slide, moving left, right then left again. Finally, he felt himself shoot out of the tunnel, fly about ten feet in the air before landing in another pool. His head broke the surface and he took a deep breath, coughing and whizzing as air filled his empty lungs. Seconds later, something else shot out the tunnel and landed to his left. "Keenan?" Romeo asked, digging around in the water until he hit something furry and yanked it out, showing a waterlogged Exceed. "You okay?"

"Dandy" Keenan replied, "next time warn me when you do that."

"Sorry, bud."

"Where are we?" Keenan looked around the dimly lit room.

"Some kind of underground chamber," Romeo replied. He lit his hand illuminating the darkness. Doing so revealed a path going further in, "this way." And so they journeyed deeper into the unknown, Romeo keeping alert in case something attacked them.

"Do you smell Jet or Droy?" Keenan asked.

Romeo took a whiff and locked onto their scents, though it was very faint due to the water. Then, another two scents caught his nose, Julieta and her assailant. "Their here," Romeo smirked. "All four scents."

"Jet, Droy, Julieta and whoever took her?" Keenan asked.

"Yeah," Romeo replied, "and a few more scents." He had noticed two more human smells.

"Hey, light," Keenan flew over to an opening. Romeo extinguished his flame and followed, as the two reached the light source Romeo grabbed Keenan and pulled them both down.

"What's up?" Keenan asked.

"We'll need to be stealthy from here on out," he replied. "If something happened to Droy and Jet, it was most likely something here." The two slowly headed into the light, finding themselves inside another large chamber which was brightly lit with torches. It was a two-story cave with Romeo and Keenan on the higher level on a cliff, and on the lower level was what looked like a camp with tents and a fire pit in the middle, to the right was another tunnel that Romeo suspected may lead out of the chamber.

"Romeo, look!" Keenan pointed to the far end of the cave, where three people were tied up. One was a little girl with blond hair, while the other two were people they knew quite well.

"Jet and Droy!" Romeo couldn't believe they got caught.

"What do we do?" Keenan asked.

Romeo looked around the camp and saw no one else there, "whoever attack them must have left. If we're quick we can get down there, untie them and get out of here before they come back."

"Right, let's go."

Romeo nodded but then his instincts kicked in, warning him of danger. A second later Romeo found himself turning around to see a giant figure before him.

"Shrieking Horror!"

* * *

Well, Romeo's first mission is off to a rousing success. What will he end up face next time? You'll just have to wait and find out.


	7. Julieta Marigold

The cliff exploded, catching the tied up prisoners attention. "Romeo!" Jet and Droy yelled when they saw the boy begin to fall.

"Keenan!" Romeo yelled to his partner.

"Hold on!" Keenan called on his wings and grabbed hold of the boy before trying to pull up. Just before they hit the ground, Keenan managed to stabilise them so they just skimmed the ground.

"That was to close," Romeo sighed in relief. "Good job bud."

"What was that?" Keenan asked. They flew up to where they had been and saw it.

A man stood on the cliff, his hands still smoking from the attack he had shot at the two. "So you survived," the man smirk. He was a large man in way of girth, wearing black armour on his arms and legs with a metal sheet strapped around his stomach.

"Who are you?" Romeo ignited his hands.

"I'm Pretent of the dark guild Silent Jokers." Pretent own hands started glowing with black energy.

Romeo caught wind of him and realised this was the guy who had attacked Julieta. "So you like to sneak attack, huh?"

"It's one of my better skills"

"Who want's to bet he got the drop on Jet and Droy as well," Keenan guessed, the look on Pretent's face answering that question for them.

Romeo growled, "well then it's pay back time." They flew forwards, Romeo's fists raised. "Strata Dragon, Stardust Punch!" He threw the attack at Pretent, but the large man seemed to explode on contact. "What the?"

"Clawing Horror!" he heard from behind him. They turned just in time to see a giant shadowy claw lash out and strike Romeo, sending them flying toward the cliff face until Keenan managed to stop them.

"It's some kind of Shadow Magic," Keenan stated. They looked down to see Pretent floating on a black cloud.

"Shrieking Horror!" He yelled, sending a dark shock wave at them.

"Look out!" Romeo yelled as Keenan managed to pull them away. "Strata Dragon, Shooting Star Blast!" He fired at Pretent, but the man became a shadow again which caused the attack to phase through him.

"Stinging Horror!" He reformed before shooting hundreds of fine needles at the two. Keenan moved about as best he could to avoid the attacks, but one clipped his wing and caused him to yell out while losing his grip on Romeo.

Romeo found himself falling back into the tunnel he came from, landing with a thud and rolling to an eventual stop. He slowly got back up and saw Pretent standing outside staring at him. Why wasn't he attacking? "Who cares," Romeo yelled as he ran back out. "Strata Dragon, Stardust Punch!" He leapt at the man, but he shadowed again and caused Romeo to go straight through him.

"I got you!" Keenan flew in and caught him, "you okay?"

"Yeah," Romeo nodded.

"You can't hit me boy!" Pretent told him, "my Shadow and Horror magics make me invincible."

"Romeo!" He heard Jet yell "that Horror magic turns peoples fear into power!"

"But who's fear?" Romeo asked. He wasn't scared, so who was- "Wait" He turned back to them and noticed the blonde girl shaking. Of cause she was scared. "Hey, Pretent!" They stopped and hover as Romeo stared at the opponent, "let me ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why'd you take the girl?" Romeo asked, "you attacked her out of nowhere and brought her here. Why?"

"You don't know who she is, do you?" Pretent asked, Romeo nodding his head. "She's Julieta Marigold, heiress to the Marigold Estate."

"So she's rich?" Keenan asked, "Then what was with that crappy house?"

"That woman, Etha, stole her from the family," Pretent explained. "We were hired by her father, Lord Marigold, to retrieve the girl and bring her back."

"She was kidnapped?" Romeo asked. Was he helping the bad guy, shouldn't he just let them take her.

"NO!" Everyone turned to the prisoners, where a young Julieta was screaming. "Don't want to go back! Papa mean!" Romeo's sensitive hearing allowed him to hear her sniffling of tears, she really didn't want to go back to her family.

He turned back to Pretent. "Looks to me like she doesn't wants to go back, so let her go."

Pretent just laughed, "do I look like I care if she wants to go or not? We were hired to bring her back by any means, lucky us she just happened to wander into the forest crying her eyes out."

"Bastard," Jet whispered, then noticing his bindings were coming loose. Quietly, he tried wiggling them in a hope of getting out, "hold on Romeo."

"Strata Dragon, Crushing Fang!"

"Clawing Horror!"

The two attacks clashed, causing a shock wave that sent the two back. Pretent managed to stabilise himself but Romeo and Keenan crashed into torch, knocking it over.

"Stinging Horror!" He fired the darts at him.

Romeo grabbed Keenan and flinched, waiting for the attacks to hit them, but they didn't. He looked back up and saw the needles disappear just before they could hit him. Then he realised where he was.

Knocking over the torch had shrouded the area he was in. And as the attacks entered the darkness, they faded. Had this been why he hadn't attacked Romeo when he fell into the tunnel, because it wasn't lit.

"I get it!" Romeo cried to Pretent, "you magics only work in light. So without it..." Romeo shot a Shooting Star Blast at a nearby torch. When it went out he fired another blast at a torch, and again and again until every torch was destroyed.

"No," Pretent yelled as he was plunged into the darkness, please. I hate the dark."

"Ironic that a dark magic user would be scared of it," Romeo's voice said. "But now that you can't see, that gives me the clear advantage."

"You forget that you can't see either," Pretent snarled.

"No, I just can't look. I can see perfectly fine." The next thing the Silent Joker mage knew, he was being slammed in the back by something painful. "Every step you take, every breathe you breath, tells me where you are." Pretent was then slugged in the face.

"How?" Pretent asked. Then, finally, a light appeared at the other end of the chamber.

Romeo's entire body was aflame, but he wasn't burning. "I'm the Strata Dragon." Romeo began to run at high speed towards him. "Strata Dragon-" He launched himself into the air, "Sword Horn!" And body-slammed the man.

"AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" Pretent screamed as the fires melted his armour away and he was thrown to the far end of the chamber.

Romeo lit his hand and walked over to the man, checking to see if he was truly out. Once he was sure, he made his way over to where the others were tied, as Keenan should be done gnawing through the ropes.

But then.

"Jelly Flop!" He spun round as what looked like green gelatin smashed into him, knocking him into the wall as the slim caused him to stick. The room relit and he finally he saw his attacker.

A man with light brown hair and a sword, while the other was a woman with red hair who was wiggling her fingers as the green slim floated above her hand.

"I knew we shouldn't have left that idiot here," the woman said.

"You can't find good henchmen anywhere these days," the man agreed.

"Let me guess," Romeo groaned. "The rest of the Silent Jokers."

"Smart boy," the man smiled. "Too bad you weren't smart enough to leave when you had the chance."

"Let me down!" Romeo struggled to get free, but he couldn't.

"Not happening," the woman told him before snapping her fingers. The goo began to expand around Romeo. "Soon, you won't be able to breath." The two began to laugh, until-

"Seeker Seeds!" Several seeds landed at their feet. Seconds later, they sprouted and grew into vines with fist shaped ends. "Knuckle Plant!" The vines began to pummel the two, knocking them back.

Romeo felt the slim begin to dissolve off of him, allowing him to get off the wall.

The man managed to cut through the vines, "Falcon Heavenward!" Jet appeared and kicked the man's sword away.

"Chain Plant!" Vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around the two. Jet and Droy stepped forwards.

"Without the element of surprise, you're not all that strong," Jet told them.

"Romeo," Keenan ran over to him, "you okay?"

"Yeah," Romeo picked himself up, "I'm okay." He saw Jet and Droy walk up to him, and they did not look happy.

"We told you to stay put," Jet crossed his arms.

Romeo just looked at his feet. "You guys were taking to long," Romeo replied. "I thought something might have happened to you."

Jet and Droy stared down at him, then their faces changed to show smiles. "Thank you," Droy patted his shoulder.

Romeo was surprised by this, "what"

"You can learn a lot from others," Jet explained. "But to be a true wizard, you need to follow your heart."

"So your not mad?" Romeo asked.

"No," Droy shook his head, "we're not." He then picked up the now sleeping Julieta, "now lets get her home". They headed out of the chamber, dragging the Silent Jokers along with them.

* * *

Etha sat outside her house, waiting for the wizards to return. She prayed that they could find Julieta.

"Mummy!" She looked up the road, where she saw a blonde girl running up to her.

"Julieta!" She screamed, running up as the little girl threw herself into her arms. "I'm so glad your safe."

"I'm sorry mummy!" Julieta cried while hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," she replied before looking up to see the Fairy Tail wizards coming up to them. "Thank you."

The others nodded, but Romeo stepped forwards. "I think you need to tell us everything. Especially about the Marigolds."

Etha sighed. So they found out. They stepped into the house and Etha made them some tea and offered biscuits, the group enjoying them as she explained. "As you probably know, I'm not Julieta's real mother. Her real mother died in childbirth."

"She was once heir to the Marigold Estate as well?" Jet asked.

"Yes," Etha nodded, "she was. But her inheritance was transferred to Julieta's father when they married. Whenever a female heir marries off, the groom becomes the benefactor to the fortune. This has been going on for years. When Julieta's mother learned she was having a girl, she gave me instructions to take Julieta away from everything until she turns eighteen."

"The age when she'll be able to take over on her own" Droy asked.

"Once she becomes of legal age, she can return and take her rightful place and change the rules about marriage. That was her mother's plan."

"Makes sense," Droy nodded.

"Please don't tell anyone," Etha begged. "Hiding is are only option. If anyone finds us-"

"Don't worry" Jet interrupted. "We won't tell anyone."

"But I suggest you find yourself somewhere else to live," Droy told her. "Those Silent Joker guys might not be the last dark guild her father hires."

"Yes," she nodded, "you're right." Etha got up and moved over to a cupboard that she pulled a large bag out of. "Your pay" she handed it to Romeo. "Thank you for finding her," she pulled him into a hug.

"Don't mention it," he replied when they broke the hug. "Next time you have a problem I'll be happy to help."

"Fairy Tail's always there for others," Keenan gave Etha a thumbs up and she smiled back.

Later, Romeo and the others were leaving. As they walked away from the house, Romeo heard the door open and light quick footsteps before.

"Thank you Romeo!" He heard Julieta yell after him. "You know what. I'm gonna be a wizard like you one day." Romeo just smiled and lifted his hand up giving her a thumbs up as he left.

They made their way over to the carriage pick up and as they did, Droy turned to Jet. "So, how do you think Romeo did?"

Jet smirked, "I'd say he did everything perfectly. He doesn't need us to babysit any more."

Romeo looked up excitedly, "you mean."

Jet gave him a thumbs up. "From now, on you can take missions on your own." Romeo and Keenan cheered at this. They weren't rookies anymore.

* * *

Sorry for the log delay and I know this wasn't long, but I hope you liked it. Real life can be so annoying sometimes.

Well, this if the first part of Romeo's arc over and done with. Now we can move on to the more...canon parts of the story. Until next time.


End file.
